Alton Evening Telegraph/1957-01-24/College at Creal Springs Closed Its Doors in 1916
﻿ALTON EVENING TELEGRAPH PAGE ELEVEN Lasted 32 Years College at Creal Springs Closed Its Doors in 1916 L,rpnf, body of frnrTftion. One sucb 'school that came, nourished for n time and then von;«hed, was 31 Creal Springs, soulh and east of Marion In Wll- eC the collegiate department of Mount Carro) Seminary at Mt. Carol I, 11!., 'from which she was graduated in 1875, After attending these schools, she taught, in liamson County. This village had ■; country schools, in the high ment. Thus it will join a host, of j of her academies and colleges By JOHN W. AM..KN Southern Illinois University Shurlleff Colic, gb at Alton, j jhat have passed on in Southern krown as the oldest inslltmion J inin0w nr learning in tho state above ' . t , 1 he 1»>vp1 or the grad* school.! tn ”,p"’ usic courses "followed the | livlties and above all the an- i methods of the Conservatory of mm) commencement and mm-j Music in Brussels, Belgium.” j ion. Programs of an annual com-a department of theology ww>j mencement and of the "Krica” maintained. In order to be ad- society list a wide range of or milted an applicant was required brings. Among them are decla-lo furnish a “ceriificte to this mations, orations, original poems, character” from the ^church IVOta' solos, duns, ;rlos, and quar-where ho held membership. Heines, pinno solo and duets,^ re-must also have received a ,B-o«II I and a harp duel. Com- to gospel ministry1 and must I nioncernrnl week whs a truly demonstrate "intellectual fit- 1 great one. ness*1, This course extended ov-j With pissing years financial er three years during which the student might pastor churches if it did not interfere with his stud- problem s came 1.0 hescl t h e srhool. These reached such proportions I hat the Inst iluijnn was forced to close. The last students departed on Christmas | Eve. 1916, and the doors of the[ strange appearing thrce-story frame building were locked, not to* open again for srhool use, Mr. and Mrs. Murrah went to iivr fn a nearby cottage, Mrs. Murrah lived on until 1929, never ceasing her effort to reopen the school to which she had given so many years of unselfish | service. The building stood until when it was dismantled. I No memorial remains to mark * thr siP of the Creal Springs Col-jle^e and Conservatory of Music. ’ A tood exposition has been I [scheduled by FctropoUs, Brazil. [ ) for early >5)7)7. t»je county seal of Williamson County, about four miles west of Marion, She attended the Brownsville country schol, fat- morning. however, as many boys as girls appeared, three of each. It was I here fore decided to make it coeducational. Students con- (•1 go'uLr to Southern Illinois ‘ tinned to arrive throughout the Normal nr Carnondnh, to the 'term, and before the *nd of the Stau« institute a Klora. and to j first 12 weeks, 59 students had Vising College. She also attend- been enrolled. Twelve of these were nn the collegiate level, whatever that may have meant. Thirty-one were in the preparatory department, seven in the primary and nine were special students of music. The first faculty of the Creal I Springs Academy consisted ol | six members. If. C. Murrah. 1 who also did some teaching, was ^ lifted as proprietor and Grace B. Mum.h f-s principal, which oft ice she continued to occupy until the school closed hi 1916. I he name of Creal Springs Academy was continued until 1894 when it was changed to Creal Springs College and Conservatory ol Music. By this time the number on the faculty ha.1 grown j to 15 and the student enrollment \ to almost. 100. Baccalaureate de-j grees were granted in the ‘class-icar, “Latin - Scientific” and ri •'Philosophical*1 fields. An addi-tional year could provide a master’s degree. It had grown into ’ a respected school. • The curriculum otfered was varied. It was boasted that the college offered one of the most thorough courses in history, three : years of genera! history preeed-j eu by one year of American history, T. O, Hawkins taught “muscular penmanship*' that would eliminate the "cramp-cd and tiresome finger movements**. In addition to the com-I mon branches of learning, the school offered JLatin, Greek, Ger-' man, French, analytical geometry. calculus, typewriting, elocu :icn, shorthand, physical culture, pedagogical studies, music and ail, • j The beauty of the region as one in which an artist might 1 1 well work was emphasized and ! it was said, “Any girl can, by